ShakeOut in West Valley

Communities across Utah are planning for another statewide earthquake drill Wednesday morning – and each one has its own emergency planning issues to deal with.

West Valley City, for example, is miles from the Wasatch Fault, but it has unique vulnerabilities. There are a couple of faults running under the city, and Fire Marshal Bob Fitzgerald says the lake bed soils over most of West Valley could liquefy in a strong earthquake

“Basically, we’re sitting on a bed of Jell-O," Fitzgerald tells KUER. "So we get a lot of different types of shaking that would go on, rather than just the sudden jolt if you were in a rock-bed area.”

Fitzgerald says their plans for the Great Utah Shakeout include the Drop, Cover and Hold On drill at 10:15 a.m. After that, city officials will be out doing a damage assessment and practicing ways to contact family members in an emergency.